India and Pakistan have reached a ceasefire understanding and yet the shadows of the conflict still loom large. The situation of peace between India and Pakistan rests on very unstable grounds, thereby creating conditions for a fragile or a ‘negative peace’. A negative peace exists when there is a cessation of hostile activities on both ends and yet the underlying issues of conflict still persist.
Why India and Pakistan have failed to find adequate deterrence under the nuclear threshold, and how this causes incessant strife between the two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours.
In the dead of the night leading up to May 7th, 2025, India carried out missile strikes in Pakistan to avenge the lives of those killed in the Pahalgam terror attacks. However, a shift in India's doctrine toward counterterrorism operations can be observed. India has made it clear with these precision strikes that any terror attack sponsored by Pakistan would be considered as an act of aggression warranting military action from India.
